The Black Cat monthly round-up: September 2021

October 6, 2021 By Hannah McCall in Monthly round-up Tags: birthday, books, CIEP, conference, editing, fiction, proofreading, September Leave a comment

Page text:
Along the Perimeter
Steven Healt
Inscription:
Hannah,
Thank you for helping me make this book everything I imagined it could be.
-Steven
SH

There are few things better than book mail. One of those things is receiving a copy of a book that you worked on. I got one of those in September – and it had come all the way from the USA. It always means such a lot to me when one of my clients sends me a copy of the completed work, and when they have thought about a lovely inscription to include. I am a fairly stoic person, but it does make me a bit teary when people say nice things about me. If you are reading this, Steven, thank you again. It was a pleasure to critique the manuscript (and that of the sequel).

The conference

The CIEP’s second conference was held in September, and it took place online, for obvious reasons. Although I would enjoy going to an in-person gathering again, there are plenty of benefits when the sessions take place online. Perhaps the biggest one, for me, is that the speakers can be from all over the world, so we can access knowledge and viewpoints we might not have been able to before (not everyone has the time, means, ability, and desire to travel to the UK to give a one-hour presentation). I hope this aspect can be retained for future conferences. You can read more about the conference and the sessions that were available here.

What I’ve been working on

September was a fairly quiet month for editing projects. I finished two projects that continued from August – one the copy-edit of a dark, psychological tale and the other the proofread of a collection of short stories. I also had the critique of a YA sci-fi/fantasy novella, which I thought held a lot of promise as the beginning of a series.

What I read for fun

I have started reading Richard Osman’s The Man Who Died Twice and I am really enjoying it. There is some ongoing commentary about the prevalence of ‘celebrity authors’ and their effect on the publishing industry (and rightly so), but I think Osman’s success is not just to do with him already having a fairly high profile. His books are enjoyable – the stories are intriguing, the characters are fun to spend time with, and the prose is witty and accessible.

Birthday business

The author (long brown hair, sunglasses, blue jumper, blue jeans, white trainers) sitting on a pebble beach

I am another year older, and I don’t know where the time is going. I used my birthday as an excuse to take a couple of weeks off – there wasn’t much point last year as we were still in the grip of COVID lockdowns. The focus of my birthday celebrations was a trip to the Isle of Wight, one of my favourite places. I had a lovely time visiting the Garlic Farm, the donkey sanctuary, and Shanklin Beach. I ate far too much, but I was happy.

A black and white English spaniel staring at a tennis ball on a pebble beach

I also made two trips to a beach a little closer to home, where Ella could have a good swim and I could enjoy some chips and ice cream. I’ve have gone to Lee-on-the-Solent at least once every summer since I was a small child, and I’m glad to have kept up the tradition.

The Black Cat monthly round-up: September 2019

October 1, 2019 By Hannah McCall in Events/social, Monthly round-up Tags: birthday, books, editing, fiction, food, proofreading, September, writing 1 Comment

I wasn’t at the SfEP’s conference this year, unfortunately, but I had plenty of other things to keep me occupied in September. I have been working my way through the SfEP’s Introduction to Fiction Editing course, on and off, since May and I managed to complete it this month. It’s a lot more in-depth and complex than the course title may suggest; I’m sure it will have a positive effect on my editing practice. The section on critiques and their structure should be particularly useful.

What I’ve been working on

I finished off the two proofreads I started in August: a non-fiction book on cricket and a novel about bereavement. I followed this with the proofread, for a publisher, of a poetry collection. Poetry is not something I have edited before, so this was a great experience – I love being able to work on a wide range of texts. The last project of September was a collection of stories about British-Indian women. It was a fascinating glimpse into the lives of some truly remarkable people.

What I read for fun

I had a week or so off for my birthday (more on that later), which meant that I had a bit more time for for-fun reading than usual. I pre-ordered the collector’s edition of Leigh Bardugo’s Crooked Kingdom some time ago, and it arrived at the beginning of the month. It’s almost as beautiful as the collector’s edition of Six of Crows. And it gave me an opportunity to use the Boomerang app for the first time. Enjoy:

I’ve had the novella All Systems Red by Martha Wells on my wish list for a while. It was the first book I downloaded onto the Kindle Paperwhite I got as a present for my birthday. Murderbot is a brilliantly written character: introverted, humane, dispassionate and funny. I whizzed through it in a couple of hours and then chose Vivian Shaw’s Strange Practice as my next read. The characterisation throughout could be stronger but I enjoyed it for what it was.

Birthday business

Sandwiches, scones, cream and jam, and cake cubes on a dark-wood stand.

Afternoon tea at Audleys Wood.

I managed to make my birthday celebrations last a couple of weeks. The first treat was afternoon tea at Audleys Wood Hotel in Alton with one of my favourite editor colleagues. I do enjoy posh sarnies and tiny cakes. I had a lovely, chilled birthday at home and then headed up to Yorkshire for a few days away. I stayed in Harrogate, which is a beautiful place. Somehow I had failed to realise the UCI Road World Championships (cycling) would be taking over the area; lots of roads were closed, it was very busy, and there were bikes – almost literally – everywhere. But I did manage to enjoy a good wander round the town and visit the legendary Bettys tea room. There was an Italian restaurant joined to our hotel, and the food there was absolutely stunning.

The local group

Between my birthday and going to Harrogate, I held a lunch meeting of the West Surrey and North Hampshire local group. The topic for discussion was marketing and looking for work, and as usual the group members delivered some great insights and advice. The next meeting will be in November, and we’ll be talking about how to make the most of our professional websites.

The Black Cat monthly round-up: September 2018

October 1, 2018 By Hannah McCall in Monthly round-up Tags: birthday, books, conference, editing, food, proofreading, reading, September, SfEP, writing Leave a comment

Black Cat Editorial Services_September 2018 September is one of the months I enjoy most. This is mostly because it contains the day of my birth, but I also enjoy the cooler weather, the changing colours of the trees, and the return of Strictly Come Dancing. I was kept very busy this month, and there is lots to report.

My trip to Lancaster

The Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) held its annual conference in early September, and I embarked on a 500-mile round trip to join in. I had never attended a conference (for anything) before, and I’m very glad I changed that. It was a brilliant, but tiring, four days. If you want to read more, I wrote a long and involved blog post all about the conference.

I brought back some SfEP badges for members of the West Surrey and North Hampshire local group. We had a lunch meeting at the Shepherd and Flock – the table in the bay window is the ideal place for a good chat and good food. Rachel, with whom I shared coordinator duties, is moving on to a new career, which is sad for the group but wonderful for her. I’ll be going solo with the coordinator role for the foreseeable future.

What I worked on

I finished the long and complex guide to complementary medicines and therapies I started in August. Cake was consumed. Then followed two more proofreads, both for publishers and both memoirs. The first was about a woman’s journey as she sailed across the Atlantic – and then back again. The second covered the career of a former professional footballer. This highlights for me one of the reasons I love working on memoirs – the range of experiences I get to read about is, sometimes, staggering.

What I read for fun

I didn’t have a lot of time to sit down and relax this month, but I managed to read two books. A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers, is warm and beautiful, and sad but full of hope. You don’t have to have read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet to enjoy and understand this installment of the Wayfarers series, but it gives the story greater depth if you have.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life, by Mark Manson, is more than its attention-grabbing title might suggest. It’s about choosing what to care about, taking responsibility for our life and our problems, and accepting that sometimes life is a bit shit. Avoiding pain doesn’t make us happy in the long term. I particularly like Mark’s concept of the ‘self-awareness onion’.

Birthday celebrations

Afternoon tea at Oakley Hall

My birthday is the perfect excuse to eat lots of nice food, and that’s what my celebrations are always based around. I had a dinner with family (egg fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, chow mein, and a mountain of chips), dinner with friends (an aged sirloin steak with Béarnaise sauce – don’t ask how much it cost), and afternoon tea with my sister. I should add that I didn’t do all that on the same day.

I visited Berkshire Show on the Sunday before my birthday, where I spent many hours wandering around eating food and trying not to buy beautiful things I don’t really need. Food consumed: a bag of doughnuts, a salt-beef and pickles roll, and a large ice cream with Flake. Things bought: a new mug, a key ring made from bits of old watches, two pints of apple juice, and a bag of German sausages.

Looking ahead

One of my best friends gave me £30 in Waterstones vouchers for my birthday, so you can guess where I will be going at some point in October! I have a weekend away planned, to the Isle of Wight, but before that Mini will be joining us at Black Cat HQ. So much for a rest!